It's been a mad two weeks in my synth world. My Prophet 5 arrived last week and as of yesterday I'm the proud father of a Grandmother! I'd tried it out at Justmusic, back in the Before Times, and always liked it. I know I'm not the only one spending more money than I should these days, but I don't regret grabbing this lovely synth. It's got that gorgeous, classic tone for traditional "musical" purposes - leads and bass - and then, of course, it's got that semi-modular rabbit hole charm. While my music has always been about blending structured pop with random weirdness, I find myself lately a bit anxious or uptight about putting too much time into simply playing around with sound. I've become very purpose-based. But last night and much of today has been very much a guilt-free "What happens if I plug *this* into *this*??" Quite liberating and very fun. And it has THAT sound.
I left a Micromoog behind in Berlin. I always figured if I moved back to California, I'd sell the Micro, as it's not sturdy enough to ship. I thought the Grandmother would be a great replacement to have here in Cal. Selling and shipping are moot points right now with the pandemic calling all shots, but just as the heavenly rev 4 Prophet 5 makes me miss my P6, the Grandmother makes me appreciate the Micromoog. I don't think I've ever been able to say "Such and such synth covers all the bases because it can sound like this one and that one..." To me, each one is unique. As Mr. Smith would put it, It's a curse!!